Bean,Honey Nut Squash and Persimmon Stew & my definition of "Food Freedom" (2024)

Colorful chefs - new and old, welcome! This is where we cook easy, delicious, saucy, colorful meals made from whole, unprocessed foods, and we make it fun, easy, and learn important stuff about metabolic health while doing it.

Bean,Honey Nut Squash and Persimmon Stew & my definition of "Food Freedom" (1)

Bean,Honey Nut Squash and Persimmon Stew & my definition of "Food Freedom" (2)

In today’s (very full) issue:

Color Club recipes: There are two new recipes up on the Color Club this week 1) Bean and Honey Nut Squash Masala Stew with Persimmons and 2) a super simple Miso Tahini Chicken Salad that has been my go-to for lunches lately (inspired by a lunch I had at my friend Celia Chen’s house!)
My POV on “food freedom” - The Cooking in Color definition of “food freedom”, and how I found it
Beanstory giveaway winner - Two lucky winners get an heirloom bean bundle!
Limited run of Cooking in Color merch: My dear friends surprised me with this SUPER FUN merch - a denim hat, corduroy hat, and canvas bag - and I love it so much I’m going to place another small order! The hats are $35 and the totes are $25. If you’d like a hat or a tote (or both!) just respond to this email with what you’d like and I’ll send you a payment link!

Bean,Honey Nut Squash and Persimmon Stew & my definition of "Food Freedom" (8)

Bean,Honey Nut Squash and Persimmon Stew & my definition of "Food Freedom" (9)

Bean and Honey Nut Squash Masala Stew with Persimmons

This week I’m sharing an easy one pot stew that’s both sweet and savory. Think of this recipe as a “stew guide” - you can use different beans, different types of squash, or different proteins to make it your own!

However, one of the key things in this recipe is using quality beans.

As home chef that is always weighing the trade-off of time vs. outcomes, I’ve finally come to the conclusion that dried beans (vs. canned) are WORTH the effort because of their superior texture and flavor. I try to cook with dried beans whenever possible (aka I’m not above canned beans here and there!)

Let’s be honest, the real effort is just remembering to soak them overnight or for at least 4 hours before you want to cook them. Why soak them? Well soaking them in water for 4-24 hours before cooking helps speed up the cooking process, and it helps you digest them. Soaking beans prior to cooking helps removes the oligosaccharides, which is a big word but without it you’ll be less gassy. 🤣

I’ve started making a pot of beans on Sunday so I have them in the fridge to add to salads, soups, and stews (like this one!) all week.

It’s peak persimmon season, I love adding persimmons in the last 8-10 minutes of this recipe so they soften and add a little touch of sweetness to the stew.

Enjoy this one and let me know what you think!!

Bean,Honey Nut Squash and Persimmon Stew & my definition of "Food Freedom" (10)

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DEFINING FOOD,AND FOOD FREEDOM

Let’s start with defining food. The Oxford English Dictionary defines food as “Any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink in order to maintain life and growth; nourishment, provisions.”

One of my favorite definitions of food is by my friend Dr. Casey Means. She says:

“We need to stop falling into traps of dietary philosophies and start breaking food into its individual parts and analyzing whether those parts are good or bad for our cells. Food is nothing more than a set of molecular components, and whether those components meet our cells’ needs largely determines health. When we see someone who is addicted to opioids or alcohol, it is easy to identify the cause of the problem. But when it comes to food, we have trouble analyzing individual components that are helping our cells or harming them, because we don’t think of food in this framework of molecular components.”

Both of these sound pretty good, except for the fact we’ve somehow convinced ourselves that processed foods (that make up 60-90% of the standard American diet) deliver upon these definitions.

What we’ve done to our food has made it so that it no longer resembles the above definitions. It’s no longer fuel that our cells recognize, and that’s when our health starts to go haywire.

There are a lot of definitions of “food freedom” out there but generally it implies nothing is “good” or “bad” and we should eat without any sort of rules or restrictions.

Bean,Honey Nut Squash and Persimmon Stew & my definition of "Food Freedom" (13)

There are no real, whole foods that are bad for us. Full stop.

However, there are things that we consider “food” today that are bad for us. Examples include: artificial sweeteners, artificial colors, preservatives, emulsifiers, and highly processed sugars, grains, and other ultra processed foods.

You might be thinking…this sounds like a list of things to avoid…which feels like a rule…which feels restricting…which doesn’t feel free. Stay with me!

Once I realized I was being surrounded by things that were NOT ACTUALLY FOOD, I felt liberated. It made deciding what to eat and what not to eat much less confusing. Eat the naturally occurring, real foods. The entire world of whole foods opened up to me. I just had to avoid the fake foods that were dressed up and marketed as real foods.

While it’s depressing that the majority of the food produced, sold, and subsidized in our country is processed or chemically altered in some way, what feels optimistic and non-restrictive about viewing food this way is that it means there are so many things that are GOOD for us (that also taste damn good too!). You probably won’t even try all of the whole foods that exist in our world in your lifetime, but you know I’m going to try!!

We’ve got about 3,000 whole foods on our planet…and millions of combinations of these foods to allow us to experience different flavors and textures!

For example:

Fruits: 2,000 types of edible fruits worldwide
Vegetables: 1,000 species of edible vegetables (but some estimates say there are closer to 250,000 plant species🤯! Globally we consume closer to 1,000, and our grocery stores usually only have about 40)
Beans: Over 50 types of beans and hundreds of varieties of legumes
Herbs and spices: There are about 40 that are important for culinary use, but some estimates suggest there are closer to 300
Fish: Apparently over 32,000 fish have been described, but we usually only eat about 100 (idk about you but as someone who eats a lot of salmon, I feel like I have about 95 more fish I need to try…)

Doesn't that all feel EXCITING?

I love trying new things - new foods, new flavors, new experiences. I don’t want to waste any of my precious time on this planet eating things that are not actually food for my cells. I literally am what I eat. I don’t want to be made of Sour Patch Kids or Doritos! 🤣 I want to eat things that are alive, colorful and vibrant, so I can be that way too.

COOKING IN COLOR DEFINITIONS

So, here is the Cooking in Color definition of food: Food is anything that comes from our natural world, with minimal changes, additives, or processing (such as fruits, vegetables, beans, meat, dairy, fish, cacao, dates, seeds, nuts, herbs etc.) Food helps us be and feel alive. Food meets our cellular needs, nourishes our bodies and minds, and supports our energy, health, and overall well-being.

BTW I get more specific on everything in my fridge and pantry that meets this criteria here.

Since I started eating according to this definition, I’ve not discovered any packaged product I can’t substitute or re-make with real food ingredients.

There are a lot of definitions of food freedom on the internet, but I think mine is shorter and more fun. 🙃

Food freedom: Feeling joy, pleasure, and connection from consuming naturally occurring unprocessed foods. Eliminating all rules around real, whole foods and viewing food as a fun, privileged part of your life.

HOW TO ACHIEVE FOOD FREEDOM

Now, let’s get to the freedom part…

We all want freedom from cravings, guilt, and the noise in our heads…

Freedom from cravings…If you just eat food (as defined above), you’ll start to become even more in tune and in touch with your body. You'll still have some cravings, BUT if you are eating a primarily whole food diet (and managing your stress and anxiety!) those cravings are a gift. They will be telling you what you need more of in terms of a specific nutrient or macronutrient. They won’t be as driven by dopamine – they will be driven by cellular needs. If you are craving red meat, your body might be telling you it needs more iron. If you are craving dairy, your body might be telling you need calcium or vitamin D. If you are craving citrus, your body might be fighting something and wants vitamin C.

Freedom from food noise…If you focus on eating within the above definition of food, and you sometimes give your body a break from food (even a simple 12-13 hour overnight fast) you’ll notice even in a few weeks time you can experience freedom from food noise (a video with more of my take on that here).

Freedom from calorie counting…My unofficial (or official?) slogan is count colors, not calories. Eating a real food diet helps you stay in tune with natural hunger cues. Since real foods are more filling and satisfying, you’re less likely to overeat and won’t even need to focus on strict calorie counting. It’s liberating to think in terms of “how many colors can I get on this plate” vs “how many calories are on this plate.”

The path I’ve found to this food freedom is by focusing on getting as much COLOR as I can on my plate from unprocessed foods. Also, the more color I have on my plate, the more likely it will be blood sugar balanced with fat, fiber, protein and micronutrients and all of the things my cells need.

You might be thinking…wait, Sonja has rules. Those sound like rules. Ok so yes, I have a food philosophy, but it’s not one about restriction. The only real “rule” is no fake food items (aka no ultra refined grains, sugars, industrial seed oils, additives or artificial ingredients).

I’ve learned, especially from my time at Levels, that one of the keys to feeling freedom from cravings and food noise, is balanced blood sugar. That is why all my recipes have thoughtful combinations of healthy proteins, fats, fibers and lower glycemic carbs. But to me food is not just about eating for a flat line on your glucose monitor.

Food is about joy, vibrancy, connection, color, pleasure, texture and flavor.
It’s about being and feeling alive.

The Cooking in Color food philosophy, or food principles, are meant to help you find food freedom. My focus on COLOR is meant to bring ease, simplicity, and joy to a crowded world of diet dogma.

These principles are the only ones that have stuck with me, and that feel empowering, delicious, and simply FUN to follow. So ultimately, this is my recipe for food freedom.

In the simplest terms:

Eating real, whole, unprocessed foods will lead you to food freedom.

Just this week, a Color Club member emailed me and said:

“My favorite part of this journey is I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything. I don’t feel restricted but FREE! I’m actually excited to cook & nourish myself in a way that always felt out of reach.” - Color Club member

YES. This is what it’s all about.

I’ll close by saying that if other people’s diets or philosophies on food trigger you, I’ll leave you with one of my favorite mantras from musician Jon Batiste:

I feel good, I feel free, I feel fine just being me.

(It sounds better when Jon says it/sings it - you can hear him sing it here, and talk more about the mantra in general at 28:35 here!)

Next time you find yourself feeling any kind of anxiety around food - I want you to repeat to yourself 5 times:

I feel good, I feel free, I feel fine just being me.